Eric Bachner

A Butler County Prison inmate is accused of having several pills of a drug commonly used to treat opioid addiction.

Eric R. Bachner, 37, of Pittsburgh told authorities he had the medication last month, but only for personal use, according to county detectives.

District Judge William Fullerton arraigned Bachner Monday on a felony charge of possession of a controlled substance by an inmate. His preliminary hearing is June 17.

The investigation began May 13 when the defendant tested positive for the opioid buprenorphine, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved medication to treat addiction, authorities said. The drug is sold under the brand name Suboxone,

Bachner did not have the drug in his system when he was booked into the jail three days earlier for a probation violation, prison officials said. Correctional officers confronted Bachner about the toxicology results. He initially denied having drugs, according to charging documents, but then removed a small package from one of his socks. The package contained four full pills and one half pill subsequently identified as buprenorphine hydrochloride.

Tim Fennell, chief county detective, interviewed Bachner at the prison. The defendant admitted having the drug for himself and not to sell or distribute, according to documents. “He stated he thought he may be going to a rehab facility when he turned himself in,” according to Fennell's affidavit, “and had the (S)uboxone to keep from getting dope sick.”

Bachner was sentenced last week to 18 months in prison for the probation violation on an underlying charge of retail theft.